Desert plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and associated bacteria: Exploring the diversity and role of symbiosis under drought.

ABSTRACT: Desert plants, such as Agave tequilana, A. salmiana and Myrtillocactus geometrizans, can survive harsh environmental conditions partly due to their symbiotic relationships with microorganisms, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Interestingly, some of these fungi also harbour endosymbiotic bacteria. Our research focused on investigating the diversity of these AMFs and their associated bacteria in these plants growing in arid soil. We found that agaves have a threefold higher AMF colonization than M. geometrizans. Metabarcoding techniques revealed that the composition of AMF communities was primarily influenced by the plant host, while the bacterial communities were more affected by the specific plant compartment or niche they inhabited. We identified both known and novel endofung

SUBMITTER: Chavez-Gonzalez JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11231939 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature